---
title: "SpaceX Just Mounted Starship on Top of the Super Heavy Booster"
description: "SpaceX has finally stacked a Starship spacecraft prototype on top of a Super Heavy booster for the very first time, a 475-foot tower of rockets."
date: "2021-08-06"
modified: "2021-08-06"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/spacex-starship-super-heavy"
categories:
  - "Space"
  - "SpaceX"
  - "Starship"
tags:
  - "SpaceX"
  - "Starship"
  - "super heavy"
  - "the digest"
---

# SpaceX Just Mounted Starship on Top of the Super Heavy Booster

![SpaceX has finally stacked a Starship spacecraft prototype on top of a Super Heavy booster for the very first time, a 475-foot tower of rockets.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/spacex-starship-super-heavy.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Elon Musk via Twitter\</em\>*

## Huge Stack

For the first time, SpaceX has finally stacked a Starship spacecraft prototype on top of a Super Heavy booster.

The dizzying tower stands at 475 feet tall including the orbital launch stand, easily as [tall as a skyscraper](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/spacex-super-heavy-booster-launch-pad>). In fact, as [*TechCrunch* points out](<https://techcrunch.com/2021/08/06/spacex-stacks-the-full-starship-launch-system-for-the-first-time-standing-nearly-400-feet-tall/>), it's the tallest rocket ever assembled.

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1423659261452709893

It's a major milestone for the Elon Musk-led company. We've never been closer to the space company's long-awaited [first test launch into space](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/spacex-plans-orbital-starship-flight>).

It's also the best-ever look we've had at SpaceX's vision for the future of space exploration — and [space-based, long-haul transportation](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-starship-spaceports-offshore>).

## Going Orbital

The giant stack at the company's test facilities in South Texas will first be disassembled again for further tests and work before its maiden voyage into orbit, according to *TechCrunch*.

It's still unclear when that first orbital test launch will take place. The Federal Aviation Administration is still in the midst of [an environmental review](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/spacex-super-heavy-booster-roll-out>) that could drag on for weeks if not months.

Whether Musk is willing to wait for that review to be completed is another question. It wouldn't be the first time the space company went ahead [without getting a go-ahead](<https://futurism.com/spacex-ignored-faa-warnings-starship-explosion>) from the regulator.

Either way, the upcoming orbital launch will be a sight to behold. A stunning 29 Raptor engines will ignite at once to deliver the megastructure into the upper atmosphere, where Starship will separate and ignite its own boosters to cruise into orbit.

**READ MORE:** [SpaceX stacks the full Starship launch system for the first time, standing nearly 400 feet tall](<https://techcrunch.com/2021/08/06/spacex-stacks-the-full-starship-launch-system-for-the-first-time-standing-nearly-400-feet-tall/>) \[*TechCrunch*\]

**More on Starship:** *[Spacex Lifts Humongous Super Heavy Booster onto Launch Pad](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/spacex-super-heavy-booster-launch-pad>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)